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Articles posted to this Blog were generated during the four-year period when Creativeworks London was funded by the AHRC (2012-16). Creativeworks London is exploring a range of opportunities to extend its work with the creative economy both nationally and internationally, and will re-launch this blog to support any future projects.

From the Archive: Shout Out!

Excerpt taken from ‘From the Archive: Shout Out!’ feature piece, written by Institute of Contemporary Arts Researcher in Residence Will Dutta. Exploring the histories of migration that shaped the sounds of the 1980s, ahead of the opening of ICA’s Shout Out! Pirate Radio in the 1980s (26 May 2015 – 19 July 2015) exhibition.

The sound system, the selector and the deejay: these three integral components of Jamaican sound system culture were first brought to life in Kingston in the 1940s. While radio was the primary means of music dissemination in Jamaica, equipment was expensive and hard to come by. For a few privileged owners, however, it was an opportunity to bring people together and make a little extra money on the side. Listening parties soon gave way to soundmen hiring out their proto-sound systems and services for parties and by the early 1950s two names already stood out as pioneers: Arthur ‘Duke’ Reid and Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd.

Their musical arms race would prove decisive in driving the scene forward; as technology improved so did the power of their sound systems. These soundmen quickly outgrew playing in homes, yards and halls. For each sound system to operate seamlessly, there were two necessary roles: the selector, responsible for choosing and playing the records, and the deejay, who spoke (or toasted) between them so to avoid awkward silences as the records were changed. It is a curious twist that the deejay would later evolve into the MC, and the selector the DJ. One deejay in particular broke the mould when it came to toasting: Count Matchuki, who set the style for the patois-rich patter of shout outs and MC-related music soon to come to the UK’s pirate radio stations…

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